Hacking the Kodak Reels 8mm Film Digitizer (New Thread)

[JohnCT]

The instructions for the modded firmware say, "The menu only works while recording In preview the stock firmware owns the buttons, so the mod can't use them there. The easy way: start a short throwaway recording, set everything up, stop, then capture for real. Settings are saved and survive a power cycle.."

Are you perhaps attempting to change things while not in recording mode?

Annnnnnndddd... you were right! I honestly thought I had done it correctly, but what I did was start the recording, the perform what I thought was a "pause" - it clearly isn't just a pause like a VCR or audio tape pause. Once the machine is actually scanning, I was able to make those adjustments as you suggested.

Thanks!

John

 

[melw]

In the Capture menu, I navigated to Picture and then clicked on "Reset to Default". Not only was there no change in the picture or the gain settings but I'm not sure the software understood the request because there was no type of acknowledgement that the request was made. When on the Reset function, I tried the OK, tried the right button, right button then OK, etc. I can't find any combination of buttons where the machine didn't ignore the command. Maybe it does but doesn't acknowledge it?
...
I don't know if I'm doing something wrong or if there's a deeper issue with my particular machine beyond the lack of frame or zoom adjustments.

Hi @JohnCT - thanks for testing this. I just realized there was a clear UX bug in the OSD. Editing is only possible in Recording mode, but after you exit Recording mode and go back to Preview, the menu stayed - I can see that is definitely very confusing!

Please find attached FW 272 for Type D. Two changes:

• Improved OSD UX - "Edit in REC" outside recording mode, and show "[]" selection and "Reset" row only while in Recording mode
• Do now allow saving/reading WB Gains 0,0,0 as valid values - minimum WB is now 16,16,16 - should fix the dark picture issue for you even without any manual adjustments.

It's only possible to edit the values and have the OSD menu functioning while recording, as in all other modes / menus the Kodak Reels will use the arrow keys and '+'/'-' for other purposes.

 

[RoyFrode]

Hi
I have a problem with my scanner
I have a C type with firmware 7.7.1, 32 gb sd card fat32 formatted.
Now it is not possible to get a single scan that is watchable. The image jumps like crazy. On every scan.
See:

This is what it looks like.
Does anyone know if this is software related or mechanical related?

 

[JohnCT]

Hi
I have a problem with my scanner
I have a C type with firmware 7.7.1, 32 gb sd card fat32 formatted.
Now it is not possible to get a single scan that is watchable. The image jumps like crazy. On every scan.
See:

This is what it looks like.
Does anyone know if this is software related or mechanical related?

The bottom of the frame seems to jump more than the top which seems mechanical to me... if I'm off base on this, feel free to yell at me.. but any chance you didn't get the film under all four of the locating tabs before closing the door? I literally use my Opti-Visors when threading the film.

John

 

[omega]

I have the same experience, and in my opinion, the issue lies with the film itself. It’s too dry and slightly shrunken. It skips because the mechanism can’t handle it. I’ve mentioned this here before. Try carefully opening the film gate door slightly while scanning. If the skipping improves, then the problem is the film and the excessive pressure.
I tried placing a film reel—wrapped in a paper towel—in the vegetable drawer of my refrigerator for 24 hours. The film absorbed some moisture, and the scanning process went much better.
I also removed one spring from the gate door—specifically on the left side, where the start of the film is inserted (the one closer to you). This reduced the excessive pressure on the film, giving the mechanism more power to advance it. That helped as well.
The truth is that the dampening didn't have much of an effect on the color film, but the removal of the spring did.

 

[RoyFrode]

I have the same experience, and in my opinion, the issue lies with the film itself. It’s too dry and slightly shrunken. It skips because the mechanism can’t handle it. I’ve mentioned this here before. Try carefully opening the film gate door slightly while scanning. If the skipping improves, then the problem is the film and the excessive pressure.
I tried placing a film reel—wrapped in a paper towel—in the vegetable drawer of my refrigerator for 24 hours. The film absorbed some moisture, and the scanning process went much better.
I also removed one spring from the gate door—specifically on the left side, where the start of the film is inserted (the one closer to you). This reduced the excessive pressure on the film, giving the mechanism more power to advance it. That helped as well.
The truth is that the dampening didn't have much of an effect on the color film, but the removal of the spring did.

Thanks for the tip. I just tried letting the film run out and fall onto the floor, instead of feeding it onto the take-up reel on the right-hand side. That resulted in a good scan. I’ll give your suggestion a try as well.

 

[RoyFrode]

The bottom of the frame seems to jump more than the top which seems mechanical to me... if I'm off base on this, feel free to yell at me.. but any chance you didn't get the film under all four of the locating tabs before closing the door? I literally use my Opti-Visors when threading the film.

John

Thanks for the tip. I just tried letting the film run out and fall onto the floor, instead of feeding it onto the take-up reel on the right-hand side. That resulted in a good scan.So it looks like some mechanical issue

 

[JohnCT]

Thanks for the tip. I just tried letting the film run out and fall onto the floor, instead of feeding it onto the take-up reel on the right-hand side. That resulted in a good scan.So it looks like some mechanical issue

Even before I attempted my first scan, it was my impression that the take-up reel had too much pull, so I took the take-up section apart and removed a washer to increase the clutch slippage. It occurred to me that these films are a lot more fragile than they were 60 plus years ago.

John